American Airlines CEO vows to make merger work

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — American Airlines and US Airways seem an unlikely couple, even to the man who will lead the combined company after their merger on Monday.

Doug Parker says, however, that American’s buttoned-down, corporate culture will be the perfect complement to his scrappy US Airways, where “we sometimes fire before we’re ready.”

At his spartan, temporary office in American’s Fort Worth headquarters, the longtime US Airways CEO sat down for a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press.

Parker talked about the merger, the government’s attempt to block the deal, looming competition from foreign airlines, and the public’s perception of air travel. The answers have been edited for length and clarity.